Distribution of broadcast content to controlled-environment facilities

Abstract

A system for receiving satellite radio signals and/or internet content and extracting a plurality of channels from the satellite radio signals and/or internet content is disclosed. The content of the channels is converted to IP packets and streamed across an Ethernet network. In one embodiment, each of the channels is associated with an IP address or port. Users receive the content of the channels by selecting the IP address or port associated with the desired content. An administrator may control the channels that are available to the users. In one embodiment, the users each have a subscription to access the content, and the subscription may control the channels that the user access.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A system, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to:
 receive a plurality of channels extracted from satellite radio signals by a satellite receiver/multiplexer and distributed across an incarceration facility by a hub as IP data packets on an Ethernet network; 
 control particular media content available to a given one of a plurality inmates incarcerated within the incarceration facility by:
 (a) selecting one or more of the plurality of channels available to the given inmate based upon the given inmate's records stored in a Jail Management System (JMS) or Offender Management System (OMS), 
 (b) looking up the particular media content available to a media receiver of the given inmate based upon an identification of the given inmate's media receiver, 
 (c) operating a first set of access points disposed in a first area of the incarceration facility and turning off a second set of access points during a first time period, and 
 (d) operating the second set of access points and turning off the first set of access points during a second time period; 
 
 select a subset of the one or more of the plurality of channels that the given inmate is allowed to access based, at least in part, on selection of the one or more channels available to the given inmate and the particular media content available to a media receiver of the given inmate; and 
 provide the selected subset of one or more channels to the given inmate's media receiver via one or more access points by operating the first set of access points during the first time period and operating the second set of access points during the second time period. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the channels comprise at least entertainment and news content. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the hub is configured to assign an address to each of the channels. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the address is an IP address or a port address. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the media receiver is configured to execute a web browser adapted to select content from a desired one of the one or more of the plurality of channels by pointing the web browser to the address of the desired channel. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the hub comprises a plurality of multichannel receiver circuits, each of the multichannel receiver circuits adapted to extract a preselected number of channels from the satellite radio signals. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more access points is configured to implement a wireless communication protocol selected from the group consisting of: a WiFi or IEEE 802.11 protocol; a WiMAX or IEEE 802.16 protocol; an Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) protocol; and a Bluetooth protocol. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the media receiver is configured to receive the one or more of the plurality of channels via a wired connection. 
     
     
       9. A system, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the system to:
 receive a plurality of channels extracted from satellite radio signals by a satellite receiver/multiplexer and distributed across an incarceration facility by a hub as IP data packets on an Ethernet network; 
 control particular media content available to a given one of a plurality inmates incarcerated within the incarceration facility by selecting one or more of the plurality of channels available to the given inmate based upon a subscription plan associated with the inmate; 
 select a subset of the one or more of the plurality of channels that the given inmate is allowed to access; 
 provide the selected subset of one or more channels to the given inmate's media receiver via a plurality of access points by operating at least one access point disposed in a first area of the incarceration facility during a first time period and operating at least one access points disposed in a second area of the incarceration facility during a second time period; and 
 in response to the given inmate attempting to access an unauthorized channel that is not part of the subset of the one or more available to the given inmate that the given inmate is allowed to access, creating a log of the given inmate's attempt. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the one or more of the plurality of channels is a premium channel that requires an extra fee. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the system to provide the log to an investigator. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 9 , wherein an address is assigned to each of the extracted channels and wherein the media receiver comprises a Web browser adapted to select content from a desired channel by pointing the Web browser to the address of a desired channel via local or remote control. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the address is an IP address or a port address. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the system to bill the given one of the plurality of inmates for access to media content. 
     
     
       15. A memory device having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of a computer system, causes the computer system to:
 receive a plurality of channels extracted from satellite radio signals by a satellite receiver/multiplexer and distributed across an incarceration facility by a hub as IP data packets on an Ethernet network; 
 control particular media content available to a given one of a plurality inmates incarcerated within the incarceration facility by operating a first set of access points disposed in a first area of the incarceration facility and turning off a second set of access points in a second area of the incarceration facility during a first time period, and operating the second set of access points and turning off the first set of access points during a second time period; 
 select a subset of the one or more of the plurality of channels that the given inmate is allowed to access; and 
 provide the selected subset of one or more channels to the given inmate's media receiver via one or more access points by operating the first set of access points during the first time and operating the second set of access points during the second time period. 
 
     
     
       16. The memory device of  claim 15 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the computer system to:
 in response to the given inmate directing a browser in the given inmate's media receiver to the address for a selected channel, receive the data packets for the selected channel at the media receiver; and 
 provide content from the selected channel to the given one of the plurality of inmates via the media receiver. 
 
     
     
       17. The memory device of  claim 15 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the computer system to:
 route the channel data packets to a wired and/or wireless access point; and 
 transmit the channel data packets from the wired and/or wireless access point to the given inmate's media receiver. 
 
     
     
       18. The memory device of  claim 15 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the computer system to:
 determine an identifier for the given inmate's media receiver; and 
 determine a list of approved channels associated with the identifier. 
 
     
     
       19. The memory device of  claim 18 , wherein the list of approved channels and the identifier are associated with the given inmate.